Social networking is a concept that an individual's personal network of friends, family colleagues, coworkers, and the subsequent connections within those networks, can be utilized to find more relevant connections for dating, job networking, service referrals, activity partners, and the like.
A social network typically comprises a person's set of direct and indirect personal relationships. Direct personal relationships usually include relationships with family subscribers, friends, colleagues, coworkers, and other people with which the person has had some form of direct contact, such as contact in person, by telephone, by email, by instant message, by letter, and the like. These direct personal relationships are sometimes referred to as first-degree relationships. First-degree relationships can have varying degrees of closeness, trust, and other characteristics. These relationships can also be unidirectional or bidirectional. A unidirectional relationship typically means that a first person is willing and able to interact with a second person, but the second person may not be willing or able to interact with the first person. Conversely, a bidirectional relationship typically means that both people are willing and able to interact with each other.
Indirect personal relationships typically include relationships through first-degree relationships to people with whom a person has not had some form of direct contact. For example, a friend of a friend represents an indirect personal relationship. A more extended, indirect relationship might be a friend of a friend of a friend. These indirect relationships are sometimes characterized by a degree of separation between the people. For instance, a friend of a friend can be characterized as a second-degree relationship.
The above personal relationships, and others, can be utilized to find and develop relevant connections for a variety of objectives. Finding and developing relevant connections can be accelerated with online services. Such online social networking can be used to mine personal and/or interest relationships in a way that is often more difficult and/or time-consuming to do offline.
Thus, there has been a flurry of companies launching services that help people to build and mine their personal networks. However, these efforts have been predominately directed towards dating and job opportunities. Many of these companies are struggling with developing additional services that will build customer loyalty. Without the ability to extend the value of the existing networks, social networking loses its appeal. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.